8.25.2009

V.A. - South Michigan Avenue

Though the ’60s garage band explosion was felt in every corner ofthe country, the local uprising of talent in Chicago thrived unlike anywhere else. The Windy City had the perfect infrastructure in place; from a booming population of teenagers, to hip music stores in every suburb, a proliferation of teen clubs willing to take their money, and a powerhouse radio station (WLS) equally up to promoting local bands. When it came to giving local groups a shot at 45 rpm fame, no Chicago label—not even the hallowed Dunwich Records—was more prolific than USA Records. USA’s Jim Golden was such a strong supporter of Midwest talent that he started up a second label focused solely in this area, Destination Records. A quarter century into the CD age, it’s hard to believe these pivotal labels have never been properly anthologized. Until now, that is! Sundazed once again arrives to the rescue with an exhaustive dive into the pure, undiluted garage side of USA and Destination Records; tapping into everything from priceless artifacts from the Lost Agency, the Foggy Notions, and Park Avenue Playground to label hitmakers the Buckinghams, the Cryan’ Shames, and the Flock at their most rockin’. There’s so much impossibly great music on these labels, we had to expand this collection to 40 tracks. The album artwork is stuffed with rare photos, band bios, and an interview with the legendary Jim Golden. For a full course of Chicago ’66 garage at its finest, look no further than 2131 South Michigan Avenue: 60’s Garage & Psychedelia from USA and Destination Records!

2131

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice selection. Take as many sales as you can off one of the few remaining labels doing decent reissues and maybe they can pack up and go home. Save them the bother.

Anonymous said...

I went out and bought 2131 Today. I love this stuff! This is real 60's Americana.Youngsters twanging on guitars and beatin' the skins and singing.Even as a young boy in the 60's I was exposed to this kinda stuff, so it's close to my heart.American youngsters making some dam good sounds! People snatch this up. It's good and a record of a time that came and is gone.,never to be repeated A really neat comp.Regards,John.

The Bomber said...

Yeah...thats great ! see something = buy it damn it!.
Yes a great edition you have in your hands...amazing.
Nice to hear from someone whos hearts been rocked by the 60s...

;)

totally agree with you John

Anonymous said...

i cant see a link?!

Anonymous said...

please, where is the link?

Anonymous said...

as Link himself said this is completely Linkless, wonderful blog though
joe

The Bomber said...

the link`s alive.

Pep Sonic said...

Maravilloso, sobre todo el primer cd. El segundo igualmente bueno, pero con más orientación garage folk.

Un gran post amigo.

Salud,

The Bomber said...

Ciertamente Pep...yo me quedo con el 1º lado tambien !
SSaludoSS

Anonymous said...

Though the ’60s garage band explosion was felt in every corner of the country, the local uprising of talent in Chicago thrived unlike anywhere else. The Windy City had the perfect infrastructure in place; from a booming population of

teenagers, to hip music stores in every suburb, a proliferation of teen clubs willing to take their money, and a powerhouse radio station (WLS) equally up to promoting local bands. When it came to giving local groups a shot at 45RPM fame, no Chicago label, not even the hallowed Dunwich Records, was more prolific than USA Records. USA’s Jim Golden was such a strong supporter of Midwest talent that he started up a second label focused solely in this area, Destination Records.
A quarter century into the CD age, it’s hard to believe these pivotal labels have never been properly anthologized. Until

now, that is! Sundazed once again arrives to the rescue with an exhaustive dive into the pure, undiluted garage side of USA and Destination Records; tapping into everything from priceless artifacts from The Lost Agency, The Foggy Notions, and Park Avenue Playground to label hitmakers The Buckinghams, The Cryan’ Shames, and The Flock at their most rockin’. There’s so much impossibly great music on these labels, they expanded the collection to 40 tracks available as a 3-LP high-definition vinyl set. For a full course of Chicago ’66 garage at its finest, look no further than 2131 South Michigan Avenue: 60’s Garage & Psychedelia from USA and Destination Records!

The Lost Agency - One Girl Man
The Shady Daze - I'll Make You Play
Oscar and the Majestics - Got to Have Your Lovin'
The Foggy Notions - Take Me Back and Hold Me
Lord and the Flies - Echoes
The Messengers - Mignight Hour
Ronnie Ross and the Good Guys - If You Ever Go
Oscar and the Majestics - Soul Finger
The Jokers - I'll Never Let You Go
The Sheffields - Do You Still Love Me
The Great Society - I'm the One for You
The Cryan' Shames - Ben Franklin's Almanac
The Foggy Notions - Need a Little Lovin'
Oscar and the Majestics - I Can't Explain
The Buckinghams - Don't Want to Cry
The Boyz - Come With Me
The Cryan' Shames- You're Gonna Lose That Girl
The Cherry Slush - I Cannot Stop You
The Lost Agency - Time to Dream
The Buckinghams - Radio Spot
The Counts - Stop Cheating on Me *
Trafalgar Square - Till the End of the Day
The Boyz - Hard Times All Over
Lord and the Flies - You Made a Fool of Me
The Richochettes - I Don't Want You
The Messengers - Hard Hard Year
Oscar and the Majestics - No Chance Baby
The Jokers - What'cha Gonna' Do
Gary and the Knight Lites - I Don't Need Your Help
The Flock - Are You the Kind
The Daughters of Eve - Help Me Boy
The Buckinghams - I'm A Man
Oscar and the Majestics - My Girl Is Waiting
Michael and the Messengers - Lifs (Don't Mean Nothin')
Park Avenue Playground - The Trip
Park Avenue Playground - I Know
The Cherry Slush - Gotta Take It Easy
The Flock - What Would You Do If the Sun Died
The Lost Agency - Time to Dream (alternate vocal) *
The Daughters of Eve - Radio Spot

hotrodmike said...

Damn...this is just an amazing set.Thanks for this post.Lots of stuff I never knew about.

sfdoomed said...

I understand the first post about putting people out, but I'm not sure how many I'm speaking for when I say that I still buy records all the time and these blogs don't stop that. If anything, I can check out something like this comp to see if I wanna throw down my limited spending money on it or not. In this case, yes! This comp is amazing.

Thanks for posting this!

The Bomber said...

thats what I want with this blog, if you like it, buy it!
thanks annonymous for adding the info and hotrodmike.

Anonymous said...

COOL!will give it a listen and probably buy this on vinyl if available